


Perfect Recipe

by niallcomein (humanlikeyou)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cooking, Cooking Lessons, Drinking, Drunkenness, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-04-18 13:24:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4707527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanlikeyou/pseuds/niallcomein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry isn't very sociable, and he takes his craft very seriously, which is why he is the star pupil of Simon Cowell Culinary. He does everything perfectly and his technique is flawless.</p><p>Niall is charming as hell. He has a special relationship with the chef mentors, and has a very upbeat and light personality all in all. But... his technique could use some work. His knifework is subpar, and he lacks focus and finesse. But his flavors are elevated to a level which Harry, as much as he tries, isn't even close to matching. And that irritates Harry.</p><p>Both the boys have what the other lacks, and when it comes time for the boys to work on something together, things get messy. But with a bit of time, both boys realise that they need each other to be better at their craft.</p><p>And maybe along the way they realise that they need each other in different ways as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Diaryofanarcissisticgayman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diaryofanarcissisticgayman/gifts).



> Just doing my best to fill this wonderful request by Diaryofanarcissisticgayman.
> 
> I hope you don't mind me putting my own interpretation and stamp on it, though, and I really hope you enjoy the story! I had a lot of fun making it. :P (Please comment what you think about it. Even if you hate it. Literally. I just wanna know :D)
> 
> Rated such for a bit of language. Not too crazy. :)

Harry arrived at the cooking laboratory shortly after the door was unlocked at seven in the morning. He turned the lights on and claimed his place at the chopping station at the back of the room, setting his bag by the sink.

He wrapped his brown locks into a quick bun and carefully took out his personal knives from his bag, laying them out on the counter at just the right angles before borrowing the sharpener from the island drawer. The sound of the knife gliding slowly against the rough metal rod bounced off the pristine marble counter tops in a fine vibrato that painted the room. Harry continued this for around fifteen minutes before his classmates started filing in, disturbing the silence with a chatter that was a little too loud for the early hour.

A quiet sigh escaped Harry’s lips. He put the sharpener back in the drawer and gave a polite smile and wave to anyone who met his eyes before averting his own quickly. Once again, Harry found himself staring at his lap and playing with the hem of his apron, oblivious to the indecisive glances sent his way.

The door to the room opened, and in came Chef in his perfectly fitted white jacket. He walked to the lecture table in the front of the class amidst murmurs and hushed giggles and landed in front of it, leaning on it. He crossed his arms and sternly looked out at the students’ faces, scanning the room, none of the rest of his features moving, before he broke out into a glittering grin and a swoon-worthy eye crinkle.

“Good morning class. My name is Chef Ben Winston. Welco-“

The door flung open and slammed against the wall, revealing a skinny and pale boy with disheveled blonde hair, his uniform barely hanging onto his small frame. The boy yanked off his earphones and his dark sunglasses. Harry couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Sorry I’m late, chef. It won’t happen again,” he said, out of breath, with a slightly embarrassed smile. He chanced a look down and began smoothing down the front of his shirt.

“It’s okay, Niall. Please find a free seat and settle in.”

Niall made his way to the back of the classroom, catching a glimpse of Harry staring at him with a wrinkle in between his eyebrows. He took the seat beside Harry at his station, but not before Niall flashed him an overly enthusiastic grin, from which Harry looked away. 

“Okay, like I said, I’m Chef Ben. Welcome to Knife Skills Three. I’ll be your instructor for this class but we’ll be seeing a lot of each other this semester, as I’m also your instructor in Meat Prep. I hope you like the people you’re seated beside because you’re stuck in those seats with them for the rest of the semester.”

Harry’s head jolted to the right, and he immediately caught Niall’s gaze. He was grinning from ear to ear. Harry rolled his eyes and trained his focus back to Chef Ben.

“Now, I know that throughout your stay here in SCC, you’ve slowly progressed into more advanced territory, but _I_ personally haven’t seen that yet. And so, for today, I’m taking you back to the basics. 

Chef Ben gestured to Harry to open the storage cabinet behind him.

“In there, you’ll find the materials you’ll be working with today. I’d like all of you to take six each.” Harry opened the doors, and out tumbled a barrage of white onions onto the spotless tile. A resounding groan filled the laboratory, accompanied by rolled eyes and dropped shoulders. “I hope you’ve all brought some gum today,” Chef Ben said cheekily.

Harry quickly got six of the few onions that were still stacked on the shelves, leaving the others to pick up the ones that fell on the floor. He readied the proper blade to be used for the exercise, and kept the rest of his knives in his case when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Want one? I’ve loads.” Harry turned and saw Niall holding up a doublemint with a bright smile. He took it, replying with a very timid and barely audible ‘thanks’ before turning back to his part of the station in which he fiddled with his chosen knife to align it perfectly in conjunction with his cutting board. Harry ignored the faint chuckle that he heard from his side 

“Alright,” Ben started once the class had settled into their stations with their materials. “For this activity, I would like three perfectly sliced onions, as well as three perfectly diced onions - standard size, of course. You will be graded today based on your accuracy in the approximation of standard, consistency, and how much I like you.” The class giggled. “After ten minutes, it’s knives down, then I will go around the room to inspect each and every one of your works. Understood?” All of the students’ heads started to nod aside from Harry’s, of course, who was already laser-focused on his first onion.

Chef Ben checked his watch and waited for the second hand to reach 12.

“Knives ready. And… begin.”

xxxxxxxxxx

Ben pitied the students and gave them five more minutes. Too long for Harry, apparently. He was yawning behind his hand as soon as Ben called time just as the last students were finalizing their work.

“So we need to work on this more, yeah?” Ben tut-tutted as he surveyed the room. The students were divided, some more confident than the others who were sweating through their foreheads, none more so than Niall, whom Harry needed to suppress a laugh at. He settled for a smirk, which Niall caught and smiled in response.

Harry looked down at his own board, admiring his work as his three onions-worth of slices were nearly identical, and the diced ones nearly perfect. He’d been practicing.

Ben landed in front of Niall, and a smile crept up his face as he looked down at the student’s work.

“Why am I not surprised?” Ben’s head hung low. “Class, can you gather ‘round?” The students’ feet rustled as they quickly left their stations to stand around Niall’s. “This is exactly why I need to take you all back to the basics. Will you all look at Mr. Horan’s work, please?”

The students inched closer to Niall’s cutting board to see a circus of onion cubes and discs, no two like each other, and the class snickered, Niall joining in. 

“Niall,” Ben looked at him seriously after the laughs died down. “You need to do better than this, okay?” Niall’s smile sobered into a straight line and he nodded with equal seriousness, all of a sudden slightly embarrassed. Harry felt a tinge of pity all of a sudden.

xxxxxxxxxx

The class was an overall disappointment with few exceptions, Harry being one of them. The students escaped the lab one by one as soon as the session ended, and Harry kept his tools with a hint of a smile on his face knowing he did well.

A soft thud landed on his counter, and Harry turned to find Niall sitting on it, legs crossed and facing him with that same smile that started to make Harry wonder about it.

“Great work in class today,” Niall said, his voice deep and inviting. Harry resisted the pull and zipped up his bag. “Hey, wait.” Niall grabbed Harry’s arm as he just about picked up his bag, and he stopped.

“Listen, um…” Niall drew his hands back and scratched his forearm, squeezing it tight. Harry waited. “Obviously, um, I need some work in the uh, knife-ing department.” Harry smiled in sympathy. “And you’re like, you know, really good at that stuff so... Do you think you could like… maybe give me some tips or like, help me some time?”

Harry stopped and gave Niall a once over, finding himself pondering whether or not he pitied Niall enough – Niall, who’s hit the same nerve in him for three years due to his work ethic and their professors, very respectable chefs, who brushed off his subpar work their entire stay at the school. It irritated Harry to no end. _He_ irritated Harry to no end. And yet he was still pondering.

“Maybe,” Harry said. “I’ll think about it.” Niall’s face lit up and he bounced off of the counter.

“Really? Thanks! Okay. Think about it okay? Okay, cool. I gotta go” Niall rushed, grabbing his things and stumbling out the door as Harry watched in utter confusion. “See ya soon ‘arry!”

Niall hopped through the door and Harry found himself staring at it for a while before the corners of his mouth started to pull up. He shook it off and took his gear, rolling his eyes at giving Niall the time of day.

xxxxxxxxxx

Chef Julian took a sip of Harry’s glaze and his eyes brightened.

“The broth is wonderful, Harry. Lovely bright, clean flavors you have going on here. You skinned the fish well, too.” Julian took another bite and let the fish settle on his tongue. “The catfish itself is a little muddy, but I trust you know how to fix that. I loved the rice, great consistency, but I would’ve loved a little more fragrance in it. Think of the ‘nose’ of it a little more. But going Asian, especially Vietnamese, is very tricky, so well done!”

Upon hearing Chef’s notes, Harry never once broke his demeanor of concentration on his dish. The skin between his eyes stayed ruffled as he dissected the words out of Julian’s mouth, not satisfied with the things he commented on.

 _I can’t believe the catfish is still muddy; I’ve been practicing all week. He didn’t comment on the lemongrass either. I thought it would’ve shone through the broth- I really wanted that extra kick. I’ll need to put more of that next time. The coriander should’ve been enough to perfume the rice more as well. Damn. Maybe I should try more mint._  

“Alright,” Julian clapped his hands together. “Good work Harry! You’re really starting to fine-tune the balancing of your flavors. Thank you.” Harry smiled politely and went back to his station amidst polite applause from his classmates who witnessed the evaluation.

“Horan, you’re up.” Niall brought his plate up to the head desk and set it in front of Chef Julian. “Okay Niall, describe your catfish dish for me, please.”

“So I made a blackened catfish taco, Chef, with a simple flour tortilla. Inside you’ll find some sliced red cabbage, a black bean chili paste, sour cream, a bit of avocado, and my own mango chutney.” Niall put on a flashy grin, his hands behind his back, crossing his fingers.

Harry was surprised. _Of all the things to do with catfish – a taco? Niall’s been pretty good with the flavors he presents in class…  but I’ve no clue how he expects to impress Chef Julian with this. Chef **Julian**._

“And what’s in the chutney?” Chef Julian said as he inspected the plating of the dish.

“Just mango, simple syrup simmered with a little vinegar, some garlic and onions, a little ginger and some cayenne for heat.” Niall bit his lip.

Julian took the taco wrap and bit off a huge chunk of it, making sure to sample all of the ingredients to assess how they worked in tandem. He rolled the food around in his mouth.

“Is that red chili pepper?” Julian asked.

“Yes sir, in the rub of the catfish. Along with some cumin and some garlic salt.” Julian’s eyebrows raised and he pursed his lips, setting the taco back down onto the plate.

“Well… Niall.” Julian wiped his mouth with a napkin. “That was seriously one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever tasted by a student of SCC.” Niall absolutely beamed as Harry’s jaw fell to the floor. “Now, I’ve heard really positive things about your palette from the other mentors here, Mr. Horan, but I never expected to be as blown away as I am right now. You’ve got a really good tongue on you, and you know how to balance your flavors but keep it exciting.” Niall was bouncing in his place in front of the counter. “You season your food aggressively and confidently, and it’s _very_ impressive Niall.”

“Insane,” Harry said under his breath. “Just plain mental. It’s a fucking _taco_.”

“You need to train your knife-work,” Chef Julian continued. “The chunks of mango and the other bits in the chutney got a little too big at times.” Niall nodded animatedly at the note. “But the dish itself explodes with flavor. And that rub on the fish is fantastic. Absolutely great start, Niall. Thank you. I look forward to your future dishes in my class.”

Niall went back to his station amidst excited whispers and stolen glances. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face even if he tried, and that infuriated Harry substantially. _Poor technique, subpar execution, and yet they absolutely adore his food. What’s this guy’s deal?_

In between thoughts, Harry noticed that he’d been staring at Niall's face the whole time he’d been fuming, scanning his features that formed into an expression of pure joy that rest underneath spiked bottle-blonde hair. Harry shook himself out of his trance and cleared his throat, his cheeks tinting.

He had to admit, though, that genuine smile on Niall’s face was a little infectious.

“Alright, next up, Mr. Payne.”

xxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the class didn’t have too much luck, still needing a bit more work on their flavor profiles, and they exited the laboratory frustrated. A blissed out Niall hung back, however, and took his time packing, still not over the high of the good critique he received from Chef Julian. While cleaning his knives, Harry noticed that Niall still had that stupid smile plastered all over his face. He hated that smile. It did start to warm up to him, though.

“Hey, um….” Niall was caught by surprise, and his jaw hung open as he waited for Harry to continue. “Good job today. Chef really liked your dish a while ago.”

“Thanks,” Niall replied sheepishly. “‘S just a taco,” he mumbled. Harry’s eyebrows scrunched, not knowing what to make of the comment, and he finished packing up the things in his bag. Niall wasn’t even halfway done.

“So, listen...” Harry said cautiously, catching Niall’s attention once again. “I’ve been thinking about what we talked about at Knife Three.” Niall’s eyebrows shot up. “I... wanna make a trade.” Niall’s lips pursed in thought.

“I’m all ears,” Niall replied confidently.

“So I can help you with your knife-work… if we can work on a dish together. I want to see what you do to get your flavors like that.” Harry fiddled with the strap on his messenger bag. Niall broke into a grin. 

“I mean sure but… I don’t think there’s much of my process to teach… It’s kind of just-" 

“Then let’s just collaborate,” Harry interrupted. “You make interesting choices.” Niall started twiddling his fingers and his cheeks started to tint. He bit his nails while considering.

“Okay… okay, sure. That’d be cool!” Niall showed off his pearly whites, and Harry couldn’t help but smile in return. “Um, do you think we could do it at your place? I don’t… really have a kitchen at my dorm…”

“Then how the hell do you practice your cooking,” Harry asked. 

“I sneak into the lab sometimes,” Niall replied. Harry was gobsmacked.

“Um… okay. Is tomorrow night fine then?”

“Definitely.”

“Okay cool. I’ll just message you the details later. See you tomorrow then.” Harry walked towards the exit.

“See ya ‘arry!” Niall said, waving comically.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry ran around his apartment, making sure everything was good and ready before Niall arrived in ten minutes. He made sure his personal pantry was fully stocked and that all of the liquids he was going to use for the day hadn’t run out. He also made it his personal mission to hide all traces of dirty laundry from sight. The apartment had to be spotless… Sort of.

The bell dinged and Harry walked to the door briskly before looking into the mirror one last time, making sure there weren’t any stains on his shirt and pants.

“Hey Harry!” Niall said excitedly as soon as Harry opened the door. “Good to see you!” He moved into a hug that Harry wasn’t prepared for, and the bags that Niall was carrying swung around and landed on his back, pushing the breath out of him. He welcomed it enough, though.

“Good to see you too, Niall,” He said, still recovering his breath. “I see you’ve brought your ingredients.”

“Yeah I brought loads!” Niall released the hug and opened up his paper bag for Harry to see. _A lot of Asian flavors today_ , Harry thought. _Interesting._

“Hm. Looks good! Okay, take off your shoes please while I drop off your ingredients in the kitchen,” Harry said, taking Niall’s stuff. “You can have a look around for a while if you like.”

Niall took off his shoes and wandered into the living room, trying to take everything in. The pillows on the sofa weren’t in any particular order, and the cushions were slightly off angle. There was a little dirt on the floor beside the potted plant, and the picture frames on the side table were barely hanging onto the edge.

“Huh.”

“What?” Harry asked, walking into the living room. Niall walked over to the nearest picture frame and placed it more toward the middle of the table for his own peace of mind.

“Nothing. Just…” Niall’s fingers lingered on Harry’s face in the photo. “From the way you are in class, I thought you’d be a bit more… clean.”

“Eh, that’s just how I am with my cooking. Not much else really,” Harry replied nonchalantly, silently berating himself on his living room’s display. “Sorry it’s so dirty.”

“It isn’t really,” Niall said. “I just thought it’d be _perfect,_ you know? Just as you’re like in the kitchen. It’s nice to see some cracks in that shell of yours.” He smiled. “You should see my dump of a room. Man, this place is paradise compared to that.” Harry held his breath as Niall traced the edge another frame with his finger. “You look cute in this one.”

“Thanks,” Harry coughed, choking at the compliment. “Um, yeah, so let’s start? I’ve laid out all your stuff on the counters.”

Niall hopped after Harry into his kitchen and his jaw dropped. The kitchen seemed disjointed from the rest of the apartment in that it was just completely beautiful and pristine and had the Harry that Niall was used to written all over it. The counters were a glimmering white marble that was offset by the tasteful light maple wood of the drawers and cupboards. Each knife was in its proper slot, spotless and gleaming, the cutting boards were arranged exactly by size, and the pots and pans lined the walls on hooks. Niall found himself salivating slightly.

“This is amazing Harry. What the hell?” He quickly approached one of the counters and ran his hands along it. Not a single trace of dust or oil. Harry shrugged his shoulders.

“I bargained for a smaller space as long as my parents gave me a good kitchen. We found this place, and it was good, but the kitchen was a dump. So my parents paid for the renovations. Nice, right?”

“Fuckin’ incredible,” Niall said in awe. Harry blushed 

“Um,” He said, deflecting, “So, what do you want to start with first?”

xxxxxxxxxx

The two didn’t know how it escalated so quickly into this fight. One minute they were chopping up ingredients, Harry cringing at the quality of Niall’s knife-work. _He’s getting better, though_ , Harry would think. But the next thing they knew they were yelling about herbs and broth. 

“NO, I SAID NO FISH SAUCE,” Harry shouted just as Niall put two tablespoons-full into the boiling pot. Harry quickly took the bottle and capped it, setting it aside. “What did I say Niall?”

“You need to trust me, Harry, I know what I’m doing!” Niall tried to reach for the fish sauce again, but Harry blocked his way stubbornly, crossing his arms. “The fish sauce gives the broth more acidity. It brightens the flavors and gives the taste more depth. I told you - it needs some more to make it-”

“No more, Niall!” Harry threw his hands up. “See, I knew you were a fluke! The fish sauce is too pungent. It’s going to overtake the whole broth, it’s going to break down the protein too much, and we’ll end up with complete sludge.”

“I’ve worked with these ingredients before Harry, I know what I’m doing!”

“No you don’t! You can’t even slice a fucking onion!”

“That’s why I asked you for help, you fuck!”

The two found themselves exhausted from the match they just had. Harry, lightheaded, leaned on a countertop to keep from collapsing. The two took their time to breathe and get their cheeks back to their normal color. Niall took a little longer than Harry.

“I don’t even know why you wanted me to come over anymore,” Niall said quietly. Harry cringed a little. “I thought you wanted to know me. And… I asked you to help me not make me feel worse about my… onion. My fucking onion…”

Harry suddenly heard bags rustling and turned to see Niall keeping up the things he brought over.

“What are you doing?” Harry asked. Niall walked past Harry and yanked the fish sauce from behind him and threw it into his paper bag.

“I’m too embarrassed right now to stay here,” he said under his breath. Loud enough that Harry heard, though.

“Wait, what? Niall-“

“Thanks a bunch Harry.” Before Harry could do or say anything Niall stomped out the door and slammed it behind him.

Harry was left in the mess of the kitchen, ingredients scattered around from trying to snatch Niall’s ladle away from him the whole time they were cooking. The pot was still on the stove so Harry approached to turn it off, the smell of the broth hitting his nose. He found himself intrigued and spooned a bit of the soup and tasted it. 

The broth was light and flavorful, the herbs were subtle and not too overpowering, and the fish sauce shone brightly through all the wonderful notes that they hit. Harry admitted to himself that it could’ve maybe used even a little more fish sauce, and his heart dropped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!
> 
> Please comment! Reviews are cupcakes and rainbows :D


	3. Chapter 3

The next few weeks were pretty rough for Niall, but oddly enough, for Harry as well. Each new session with Chef Ben or Chef Julian found Harry sitting beside an even less confident and less adventurous Niall. Harry, observing Niall’s slower movements, and his second guessing with the fish sauce, and his increasingly sloppy knife work, was a complete wreck beside him.

Niall managed to keep up a façade, enough for his friends in the class not to notice. However the one thing he couldn’t fake was his food, which grew blander every session, which didn’t go unnoticed by their mentors. And so came Chef Julian’s brilliant idea:

“…you’ll be divided into pairs.”

Harry shot up, as did Niall, and he quickly surveyed the room, daunted by the task of once again interacting with a classmate, let alone asking them for _help_. Niall quickly caught Liam Payne’s gaze and they gave each other a silent nod before focusing on Julian again.

“Now, like magic, if you look to the person beside you, you’ll see who your partner is.”

Harry’s eyes bulged out of its sockets and he didn’t dare to look to his left. If he did, he’d have seen a deflated Niall looking at him with a stare of complete defeat. Instead, he stared at Chef Julian’s sinister smirk and devilish eyes.

xxxxxxxxxx

_… you and your partner will be workshopping a fusion dish…_

_… this assignment is due two weeks from now…_

_… you need to work together very closely for this to work…_  

xxxxxxxxxx

“If you want our dish to be even remotely good, we’ll need to use your kitchen.”

Harry was startled out of packing his bag by the commanding tone in Niall’s voice. Harry looked back and his heart started racing, suddenly slightly fearful of the mixture of sadness, anger, and determination in Niall’s eyes. He couldn’t keep Niall’s gaze for more than a second or two at a time.

“Okay, agreed,” Harry replied.

“Good. Send me your schedule and I’ll work something out for us.” Niall’s voice was laced with a calm rage, and it sent chills down Harry’s spine. “We’ll need at least three or four sessions for this to work. I’m not sure if you’re comfortable enough with my shite technique to see me that often, but it needs to happen.” 

“Ni-“

“I’ll try not to fucking screw up so much. Wouldn’t want you to suffer too bad,” Niall spat, grabbing his bag.

“Niall, wait!” Harry started for Niall, but the boy was already running away. He thought he saw Niall’s hand reach up to his face for something, but Niall was out the door too fast for Harry to fully see.

_I have to fix this somehow._

xxxxxxxxxx 

The doorbell rang and Harry’s nerves got the best of him, making him splash some water on his face before getting the door. Niall was standing in the doorway carrying twice as many bags as he had when he had previously gone to Harry’s place.

“Hey, Niall,” Harry said quietly. His grip on the doorknob turned his knuckles white, and his palms started to sweat as Niall’s jaw clenched.

“Hey,” Niall said, his voice still angry, but his eyes still sad. “I’ll just drop these off at the kitchen.”

“No, let me!” Harry said hurriedly, immediately grabbing all of Niall’s paper bags and kicking the door closed, motioning with his head for Niall to take a seat in the living room. “Just chill on the sofa for a second.”

Niall’s brows furrowed, but he went for the sofa anyway, sitting on one of the ends by the armrest. A couple of minutes passed before Niall heard a faint tinkling of glasses. A few more seconds passed and Harry emerged from the kitchen with a bottle of Guinness and a can of Coke, holding the beer out for Niall to take, surprising him.

“Take it, please,” Harry said, still holding it out. Niall hesitated, but took it from Harry’s grasp, holding on to it for a while before setting it on the glass coffee table in front of him. Harry sighed, taking a tentative seat beside Niall. Not too close to him, though.

“What’s this?” Niall mumbled, pointing to the bottle.

“It needed the fish sauce,” Harry replied. Niall’s brows gathered in the middle of his forehead again and he looked to Harry who returned his gaze.

“What?”

“I tasted the broth, and you were right. It needed more fish sauce. This… is a peace offering.” Niall’s expression softened as he searched Harry’s eyes, looking for the lies. None were detected. “I wanted to say that… I’m completely sorry, Niall. About how I treated you the last time. I underestimated your cooking… and that was just… real shitty. And I’ll… I’ll try to be… better. A better partner.” The end of Niall’s mouth pulled up a little, and Harry melted ever so slightly at holding Niall’s gaze for that long. “And I want this to work. I didn’t mean for our session to pan out the way it did. I want to help you... but mostly, I really just want to learn from you. So… yeah. I’m sorry. Really, really sorry.”

The silence filled the room and all that either could hear was Harry’s loud, nervous breathing. Niall was a little shocked, to say the least. This robot of a student, someone that he’d been intimidated by all these years at SCC, was sharing this sincere, human moment with him. And it thrilled Niall. But he didn’t want to admit that.

“Apology accepted,” Niall said coolly, still quiet, and grabbing the beer in front of him. Niall took a swig, and Harry followed suit with his Coke. “Ah, that’s damn good.”

“Sure is...” Harry replied. “So… now that we got that out of the way, do you want to start?”

“Absolutely,” Niall replied with a smile, the first genuine one Harry had seen in a while.

xxxxxxxxxx

They entered the kitchen and laid out all of the ingredients they had previously talked about for an ambitious but achievable Italian-Greek fusion dish. The different cheeses, herbs, and spices perfumed the room, and the boys found themselves subconsciously salivating as they readied to workshop their projected recipe.

Harry started with the onions, dicing them with practiced ease and breezing through three of them in two minutes tops. At the same time Niall worked on the garlic beside him, pausing before each slice, trying to mince them into bits as small as possible. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead as he took a bit of time with the one clove he was working on, the fear of messing up still filling his chest.

Harry noticed Niall’s struggle and moved closer to him, Niall not noticing. He observed Niall’s hands shaking as the knife ran up and down through the garlic. _That’s more like it_ , Harry thought, looking at the consistency in Niall’s mince. It still wasn’t the best, but he was definitely improving.

He reached over and placed his hand over Niall’s, pausing his movements and rousing Niall out of his trance. 

“You’re doing great, Niall,” Harry said sincerely. “Really good.” Niall dropped the knife on the counter for a while and leaned on the counter, breathing a small sigh of relief.

“Really?” he asked under his breath.

“Totally.”

Niall smiled to himself and went back to work as Harry turned to the yogurt.

xxxxxxxxxx

Niall was busy stirring the pot until the sauce reduced to a good consistency. He stuck his finger in the white substance and brought it to his lips, letting the liquid settle on his tongue before deciding what else it needed. Harry saw this and scoffed playfully, grabbing a teaspoon from one of the drawers and hitting Niall on the head with it lightly. Niall chuckled.

“Hey… do you mind if I add some oregano to this?” Niall asked hesitantly, but already reaching for a sprig of the herb, feeling somewhat comfortable around Harry now anyway.

“Sounds good,” Harry replied. “I’ve got no experience with Greek whatsoever, so just… do that. I trust you.” Niall smiled to himself before stealing some sage and mint as well and noting it down in the list of their second trial recipe.

“How’d you get to know Chef Ben?” Harry asked out of the blue. Niall was too busy mixing and tasting to fully hear Harry’s question.

“Hm?”

“From before… that first session of Knife Three. Chef Ben seemed to know you already. How’d that… happen?” Harry asked off-handedly, and busied himself with prepping the lamb.

“Oh! That… um… well Ben’s actually a family friend. Sort-of-uncle actually. He’s been around for a while,” Niall said, setting the wooden spoon down putting the cap on the pot, turning to sit on the counter. “Dad asked him if he could mentor me a bit and meet up with me every once in a while. I’ve had a few sessions with him every year since SCC.” Niall shrugged his shoulders.

“Wow. That sounds… fantastic,” Harry said turning, leaning back on the counter as well. “Damn, I’d kill to have that kind of time with Chef Ben.” Niall nodded.

“Yeah, it’s pretty great. Guess I’m just lucky.”

xxxxxxxxxx

The laughing echoed slightly in Harry’s living room during a well-deserved drink session after a successful third trial of their dish. Niall sat comfortably on the sofa and held onto his beer while Harry sat right beside him with his coke.

“I still can’t believe that happened...” Niall said, his eyes crinkling as he took a swig of his Guinness.

“What that you snorted flour out your nose or you gave poor ol’ Bobby a fungal infection in the process?” Harry was giggling too much, and the mention of the infection caused Niall to almost do a repeat performance with his beer this time.

“Both!” The two sank deeper into the cushions as they cackled. The laughs died down and Harry took a sip of his coke.

“Hey, why do you drink that shit?” Niall asked, sipping from his own bottle.

“Nobody’s above Coke,” Harry said in mock-defense.

“Yeah, yeah whatever…” Niall chuckled. “But like… you always give me Guinness and take a Coke for yourself. What’s that about?”

“I just don’t drink, that’s all,” Harry shrugged, taking another sip before setting his bottle down on the table. 

“Yet you have Guinness every single time I’m over,” Niall said, amusement in his voice. “Bullshit, you don’t drink.”

“I really don’t though,” Harry said, the pitch in his voice going higher. “I just…” He hesitated, his voice growing soft. “I buy them for you.”

Niall’s eyebrows shot up, and his cheeks colored, forcing him to look away from Harry and hide his face. He cleared his throat and the two grew quiet for a while before Niall replied with a timid thanks and a smile that he couldn’t keep from pulling at the corners of his mouth. Harry smiled back.

“So,” Harry said, breaking the tension, “you cooked with your family a lot, huh? All these stories of kitchen-gone-wrong and stuff like that.”

“Oh yeah, totally!” Niall replied, lighting up at once again being able to talk about his family. “I was always in the kitchen while they cooked so when I was old enough they started letting me help them. They noticed I had like, an _extreme_ interest for food. It got to the point when we’d go to restaurants of like, all kinds of cuisines and they’d force-feed me as much as they could afford ‘cause they wanted me to taste as much stuff as possible. Then they’d set Sundays aside for me to just cook for them. It was pretty great.” Niall was slightly breathless after the short story, having breezed through it out of too much excitement. He’d always loved that story. He was so caught up in the moment that he didn’t notice Harry smiling at him goofily, never once dropping his gaze, completely entranced by Niall.

xxxxxxxxxx

“So where’d this special Harry-brand of OCD come from?” Niall asked, flicking some of the sauce onto Harry, laughing as Harry rushed to wet a rag and wipe it off of his shirt.

“Damn you,” Harry said, a smile escaping him.

“C’mon Haz, answer my question,” Niall said, poking at Harry’s side.

“Stop! Okay, fuck. Get off me.” Harry swatted Niall’s hand away as it threatened to poke him again. “I… really don’t know,” Harry said, climbing up and sitting on one of the counters beside the sink. “I think maybe it was my mum? When I had just an inkling of interest in something, she’d try to push me into it immediately. I even played a bit of mini-football back then.” Niall snorted.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up. So as I was saying, when she saw that I started to really love cooking, she pushed me into cooking workshops and bought 7 billion DVD’s. It was intense. But I learned a lot. And I loved trying to get my dish exactly how it looked in the pictures, and I  still love trying to make everything perfect. So I guess that’s it.” 

“Awesome,” Niall said quietly, going over to the sink to wash a spoon they had used before splashing some of the running water to Harry.

“Aaaargh, stop it!” Harry shouted as he jumped off the counter and smacked Niall on the side of the head.

xxxxxxxxxx

The two found themselves sitting beside each other on top of a counter, rubbing elbows knee-deep in a serious conversation. They had time to kill, as always.

“…they took it pretty well,” Niall said, kicking his feet and swaying them, playfully hitting Harry’s. “They mentioned that I dated girls before, but it was never really my thing. Like I liked dating them, but not like how I was supposed to, you know?” Harry nodded. “I guess I really was just attracted to boys instead. It’s not much of a story, I guess.” Niall shrugged. “What about you? What’s your coming out story?” Harry shrugged back.

“Non-event. Kinda like yours,” Harry said. “My parents just brushed it off and asked what was for dinner.” Niall smiled.

“Isn’t that kinda great?” Niall asked. “This is our world now. Like we can say these… taboo things and people have evolved enough to just… accept that it’s just how life is. That those things are normal.”

Harry nodded quietly and smiled to himself, picking at the hem of his shirt.

Niall went back to the stove and turned the flame off, the dish done for the day.

“You think the dish is ready for tomorrow?” Niall asked, turning to face Harry who was by the sink.

“Totally,” he replied with a smile, which Niall returned readily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!
> 
> Please comment! Reviews are vanilla and avocados :D


	4. Chapter 4

The dish was a complete success. The panelists, Chef Ben and Chef Julian and special guest-panelist Chef Simon (which absolutely thrilled the students) gave Harry and Niall high praises for working with big and bold flavors while keeping the integrity of each cuisine in their deceptively complex dish, which was plated and executed to perfection.

“Good work, boys,” Chef Simon said. Harry and Niall had to stop themselves from squealing in front of Simon.

To say the two boys were beaming after the glowing reviews they just received would be an understatement. Both Niall and Harry went back to their station in the back of the room and exchanged a low fist bump, out of sight from everyone else.

As the next pair went up to the front desk with their dish, and the students were left to observe the critiquing process, Niall leaned over to Harry.

“Hey,” he whispered, getting close to Harry’s ear. “Liam and I and the other students were gonna head up to the clubs after class. Celebratory party and all that. Just heard about it a while ago. They’re planning to pitch in for a few bottles of vodka. You wanna come with?” Harry thought about it and felt it too tempting… but…

“I don’t drink though,” Harry whispered back.

“Then just come and dance, it’ll be fun.” Niall leaned back and flashed him his signature, glistening grin. Harry chuckled.

“Okay fine, I’ll go.”

“Awesome,” Niall said, his smile growing wider, before turning back to the front of the class, catching the last of the critiques.

“Okay good job everyone,” Chef Ben announced to the whole class. “I’ll see you all next week, okay?”

The chatter grew louder immediately as the students started filing out of the room with varying degrees of relief and excitement in their faces. The boys packed up their things, Niall a bit more excitedly than Harry. 

“I’ll go ahead, okay? See you later?” Niall asked, already heading for the door. Harry smiled and nodded, and Niall’s face broke into a grin. 

“Awesome,” he said. And just like that, Niall was out the door, and Harry was left to his own volition of what he could choose to wear tonight, immediately texting Niall about dress code because he’d never been to one of these things.

xxxxxxxxxx

Harry patted down his navy blue knit jacket and checked the address he’d written on his phone before deciding that, _yes, this is the place_. After all, the place was hard to miss with all the neon encapsulating the building in all different colors and directions.

The bouncer let him in and the vibe was immediately different from the outside. The music boomed from the speakers and made the fabric walls bounce with every beat. It was pretty dark inside, and the violet hue surrounding the entire venue was the only way he could make out any shapes in the room. He looked around and saw a head of spiky light hair waving at him hysterically. Harry laughed loudly, drowned out by the music anyway, and walked over to the table Niall was at.

“You made it!” Niall shouted, immediately getting closer to Harry’s ear so that he could hear.

“Told you I would,” Harry replied into Niall’s ear as well.

“Come sit!” Niall motioned to the huge lounge sofa, and Harry sat down beside a familiar boy with puppy dog eyes and short dark hair. “Harry you remember Liam? He’s our classmate in Knife and International Cuisine!” Liam smiled and held his hand out, which Harry shook.

“Cool that you’re here!” Liam said.

“Okay boys!” Niall said, tapping on Harry and Liam’s shoulders. “You two chat for a bit while I go to the loo and then get more drinks!” Niall disappeared into the crowd, and Harry turned to Liam, who then turned to the rest of the group.

“Hey everyone!” The group looked to Liam. “Harry’s here.” The group whooped and raised their glasses to Harry, who ended up taking one from the small table and raised his back.

“What was that?” Harry asked Liam, amused.

“Eh, you know, you’re never out with us. We kind of always wanted you to hang out with us but you’re just...” Liam paused. “A little intimidating, I guess.”

“What?” Harry asked, slightly incredulous.

“Aw come on Harry, you’re like… star-pupil and stuff.” Harry’s brows furrowed. He seemed to be doing that more nowadays. “Like, you seem pretty cool but you’re always so damn serious during lab… we kind of got the impression that you didn’t like any of us at all. So we just decided to keep out of your way.”

“That’s so far from the truth, you wouldn’t believe!” Harry yelled. The music seemed to get louder, but Harry needed to get this across. “It would’ve been awesome to hang with you guys!” Liam smiled.

“Well you’re here now! Cheers!” The group behind them chanted with them, and each took a sip of their drinks, Harry not really knowing what to do with the one in his hands.

“Hey, c’mon!” Liam said, pushing the glass closer to Harry’s face. “Drink up, and let’s have some fun!” Harry smiled in reply before taking a huge gulp of the sickly sweet concoction.

xxxxxxxxxx

Seven multi-colored cocktails of decreasing sweetnesses later, Niall came back to Harry draped over the back of the sofa, his jacket already ditched. All that was left was a polo shirt that was barely hanging onto Harry’s body, that had three, maybe four buttons undone.

“Sorry, I got caught up talking to a bunch of people!” Niall said to no one in particular, sidling up next to Harry on the sofa. “You okay?” Niall asked, happy to see Harry let loose.

“I’m fucking amazing, Niall,” Harry said, taking another sip of something. It was green this time.

“Okay, I think that might be enough of that,” Niall said. He took the drink from Harry’s grasp and put it down on the table.

“Hey, I feel great Niall. You wanna dance? Let’s dance, come on. Dance with me, Niall. Let’s dance.” Harry’s speech was a little slurred and he was slightly delirious, but he pulled Niall up from the sofa and started to drag him towards the dance floor. Niall laughed and went along with it, glancing at Liam, and Liam giving him his thumbs up. _Go for it_ , Liam mouthed.

The beat of the bass thrummed through the air and everyone on the dance floor was jumping to its time with abandon and the fever of the nightlife. Harry jumped wildly in his place, Niall following suit a little less energetically. Niall was having the time of his life watching Harry laughing and jumping along to the obnoxious dubstep that was playing.

The song suddenly changed flavors and shifted into a strong and sexy Justin Timberlake tune, and the crowd stopped jumping in favor of body rolls and butt swinging.

And Niall couldn’t handle how hypnotized he was by the sway of Harry’s hips. Harry started twirling slowly, swaying lower and lower. The way that Harry’s jeans hugged his butt, and the way Harry let the music float up his strong arms above his head. Niall was completely hooked. Another dip, and Niall couldn’t help himself anymore.

He reached out from behind Harry and grabbed his hips, causing him to gasp. Harry looked over his shoulder, and the two started to sway closer together in time with the music until Harry’s back was flat against Niall torso. The two started to breathe heavily as Niall’s palms roamed Harry’s thighs, the feeling causing his breath to stutter. Harry turned around and wrapped his arms around Niall’s neck, resting their foreheads together. Their breaths mingled, and Harry looked straight into Niall’s eyes.

They were a striking blue, seen even under the harsh colored lights of the club. He just stared at them for a while before he realized that they weren’t moving anymore and the song had changed. Harry’s gaze fell to Niall’s lips and before he could help it, he leaned forward and captured them in his own.

Their lips danced, each new curve discovered sending shivers down both their spines in the middle of the dance floor. Niall tasted of Heineken and iced tea, and Harry couldn’t get enough of this intense feeling building in his chest as he continued to kiss Niall.

Niall broke the kiss and the two were completely out of breath, hanging onto each other to not fall over. Trying to catch their breath, they started giggling. Niall nodded to the sofa, and they started for the group again. Only Harry didn’t make even two steps before he toppled over face forward onto the floor.

“Harry!” Niall exclaimed, dropping to his knees. “Hey you okay?”

Harry turned over with a stupid grin on his face and his eyes closed. 

“I’m fucking drunk,” he said with a maniac laugh, which Niall couldn’t help but be amused by. Just as he tried to pick Harry up by himself, Liam ran over and draped one of Harry’s arms over his shoulder.

“Hey is he okay?” Liam asked, as they walked toward the front exit. 

“Yeah he is,” Niall said grunting at Harry’s almost dead weight. “Just help me get him to a cab. I’ll bring him home.”

xxxxxxxxxx 

Harry woke up with a grunt, a pang of pain hitting the side of his head as soon as he raised it. He was in his bed, but he was still in last night’s clothing. He noticed that his jacket was hanging over a chair under which his shoes rested. The door creaked open and Niall peaked in. Harry smiled through the pain. 

“Hey,” Niall said cautiously, careful not to be too loud. “How’re you feeling?” Niall opened the door bigger and stepped inside with a glass of water and an Aleve, handing it to Harry who quickly took it and downed it.

“A bit better now, I guess,” Harry said with a sleepy smile, wiping his mouth with his wrist.

“Good,” Niall said.

"Did you... you brought me home, right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah... yeah I did. I just wanted to make sure you got back safe. S'all," Niall said quietly, sitting on the bed beside Harry.

"You're incredibly sweet Niall."

Niall started twiddling his thumbs. “So um… last night,” he said “You were pretty drunk…”

“Yeah don’t remind me,” Harry groaned, resting his head back on the pillow. Niall chuckled faintly. He was nervous for some reason, which caught Harry’s attention once more.

“So do you remember anything from last night?” Niall asked, as he started to play with a corner of Harry’s blanket. Harry smiled, understanding, and he reached over and rested his hand over Niall’s, pausing his movements and making him look over.

“I remember everything,” Harry replied softly. Niall sighed in relief and smiled.

“Okay, cool…. So… was that… something you’d want to happen again, then?” He asked, hopeful this time.

“Many times over.”

A small giggle escaped Niall and he leaned over to give Harry a soft peck on the lips. Harry lingered there for a minute, and captured Niall's lips against his again, enjoying the tenderness of Niall's lips a little too much. Before they could continue, Niall broke it off and started dragging him up out of bed, much to Harry’s dismay. 

“Come on,” he said. “I made you my special pancakes.” Harry’s eyes grew comically wide.

 “The one from the f-“

“Yes from the flour story, now come on!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!
> 
> Please comment! Reviews are musicals and Irish jigs :D


	5. -

.................

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it!
> 
> Please review! Reviews are love and butterfingers :D


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